Had enough yet?

One would think that, after all that trauma and drama, I would have given up on Regal Spacific for good. But no, not me. One of the things that good horsepeople do is go back and look at what they did wrong or could have done better in their handling and training of the horses they work with. As you can imagine, I had plenty to examine in just four days worth of notes and I was determined to use what I'd learned however I could. I made a fair number of poor moves but I also did some things right. Chief among these right things was not giving up.

When the going gets tough, the tough consult The Internet Oracle. While all this was going on at the barn, I was spending every spare moment I had seeking answers on the web and hoping to find some insight into what I was dealing with.

In my past I had handled racehorses, stallions, broodmares, foals, green horses, high-strung horses, veterans and just about everything in between but I had never known a horse like Regal. I couldn't read him at all and it was getting us both into trouble.

Early one morning while Googling 'dangerous horse' in a stolen moment of company time before the flower auction (sorry employers), I came across a website that gave me a whole new way to look at things with Regal. The site belonged to Missy Wryn, a trainer based in Oregon, and contained a section on "Benny the Autistic Horse". I read it with relish and came away with a totally different understanding of my own situation and a sense of relief knowing that I wasn't alone. It's a fascinating story...

http://www.site.missywryn.com/Benny_the_Autistic_Horse.html

I don't know Missy personally but I am very grateful for her insight and the encouragement I took from her sharing of Benny's story. After reading about Benny and watching the videos of him on youtube, etc. I resolved to keep on with Regal however I could.

I am certainly not a horse trainer, but if I ever wanted to be one it was clear to me that I should not give up on the opportunity to learn from my own 'special case'.